| PENN STATE at PITTSBURGH | | | | 12-17 (0-3, B1G) | 16-13 (1-8, ACC) |
| Wednesday, March 29 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
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March 28, 2017
PENN STATE CONCLUDES 30-GAME ROAD STAND AT PITT
The Nittany Lions will conclude their 30-game road stint Wednesday, March 28 when they head to Pittsburgh for an in-state contest against the Panthers. The single game is slated to start at 5 p.m. and will be featured on ACC Network Extra for those unable to attend.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE PANTHERS
Penn State owns a 22-11 advantage against Pittsburgh in the all-time series, most recently earning a 7-2 victory Feb. 20, 2016 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Nittany Lions have defeated the Panthers in their last two meetings, coming away with a 3-1 win in the 2015 season at Beard Field. The Blue and White and Pitt have not met up in the Steel City since the 2011 season when they two teams split a doubleheader.
MIDWEEK PLAY
Penn State will play just its third single midweek game of the 2017 season when it heads to Pittsburgh Wednesday, March 28. Earlier this season the Nittany Lions fell to No. 8 Washington twice in midweek competition.
SMITH PROVES TO BE BRIGHT SPOT AT NO. 19 MICHIGAN
Freshman hurler Madey Smith has proven time and time again that she has what it takes to go up against the top hitters in the nation and keep them off balance. In her second career appearance, Smith gave up just one run to the powerful No. 8 Washington Huskies. This past weekend, the Washington, N.J. native threw 5.1 innings, four of which were scoreless, to No. 19 Michigan. Smith gave up just three runs while striking out three in the loss.
MILLER REACHES 100 CAREER RBI
With her 17 RBI this season, senior Shelby Miller has eclipsed the 100-career RBI mark. The senior third baseman has driven in 103 career RBI in her 177 appearances and currently ties for No. 8 in Nittany Lion career RBI laurels with Michelle Turk. Miller needs just one RBI to move into a tie for seventh overall and 34 RBI in her remaining 25 regular season games donning the Blue and White to tie former teammate Macy Jones for the Penn State career RBI record of 137.
BRACKPOOL MOVES INTO SOLE POSSESSION OF NO. 9 SPOT
Senior Kristina Brackpool moved into the No. 9 all-time spot when she blasted her 18th career home run against Niagara, March 19. Brackpool launched a home run over the outfield wall to give Penn State the early 3-0 lead over the Purple Eagles. The Valencia, Calif. native posted a big weekend at the plate for Penn State, hitting at a .467 clip in four games. The senior first baseman tallied seven hits in 15 at-bats and drove in eight RBI in Washington, D.C. Brackpool tallied two multi-hit games and two multi-RBI games, bringing in four of Penn State's seven runs against Niagara.
PENN STATE TO STREAM SELECT HOME GAMES
The Penn State softball team will stream 14 home games in the 2017 season. The Nittany Lions will have seven games featured on BTN Plus, which will require a paid subscription to view, while seven games will be on GoPSUnow and be free to the public. Penn State's BTN Plus games include two games in its home-opening series against Indiana (April 1 and April 2), the Ohio State doubleheader (April 12), the mid-week non-conference doubleheader against Bucknell (April 19) and the opening game against Big Ten foe Rutgers (April 21). Fans can stream Penn State's series finale against Rutgers (April 23), its mid-week doubleheader against Saint Francis (April 26) and its three-game series against Minnesota (May 5-7) on GoPSUnow free of charge. Furthermore, the Nittany Lions will be featured on the Big Ten Network twice in the 2017 season with their first game against the Michigan State Spartans set to air on Friday, April 7 at 4 p.m. The Blue and White will also take on the Terrapins of Maryland live on BTN Friday, April 28 at 6 p.m.
TRAVELING NITTANY LIONS
Penn State softball will hit the road for 39 of its 56 games, traveling a whopping 13,199 miles in the 2017 season. The Nittany Lions first travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. for the LSU Tournament before heading to Atlanta, Georgia for its first appearance in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Blue and White close out the month of February in Conway, South Carolina for the Chanticleer Showdown and open the month of March at the Colorado State Classic. Penn State continues its five weeks of travel in Washington with a doubleheader against Seattle and two games in the Husky Classic. Penn State returns from spring break and travels to Washington D.C. for four games at the GW Capital Classic, March 18-19. Following a mid-week home-opener, the Nittany Lions go back on the road to Michigan and Pittsburgh and also make trips out to Michigan State, Nebraska and Maryland in the 2017 campaign.
ON DECK
Penn State plays its first home games inside the friendly confines of Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field Friday, March 31 against Indiana. The Nittany Lions first game against the Hoosiers is slated for 6 p.m. Friday, March 31, while game two is set to be played Saturday, April 1 at 3 p.m. The three-game series concludes Sunday, April 2 at 1 p.m. Fans can catch game one for free on GoPSUNow, while game two and three will be on BTN Plus.
